Augmented Reality in Neurosurgery, State of Art and Future Projections. A Systematic Review

Delia Cannizzaro; Ismail Zaed; Adrian Safa; Alice J M Jelmoni; Antonio Composto; Andrea Bisoglio; Kyra Schmeizer; Ana C Becker; Andrea Pizzi; Andrea Cardia; Franco Servadei

doi:10.3389/fsurg.2022.864792

Augmented Reality in Neurosurgery, State of Art and Future Projections. A Systematic Review

Front Surg. 2022 Mar 11:9:864792. doi: 10.3389/fsurg.2022.864792. eCollection 2022.

Authors

Delia Cannizzaro^{1

2}, Ismail Zaed^{1

2}, Adrian Safa², Alice J M Jelmoni², Antonio Composto², Andrea Bisoglio², Kyra Schmeizer², Ana C Becker², Andrea Pizzi², Andrea Cardia^{1

2}, Franco Servadei^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Neurosurgery, IRCCS Humanitas Research Hospital, Rozzano, Italy.
² Department of Biomedical Sciences, Humanitas University, Pieve Emanuele, Italy.

Abstract

Background: The use of augmented reality (AR) is growing in medical education, in particular, in radiology and surgery. AR has the potential to become a strategic component of neurosurgical training courses. In fact, over the years, there has been a progressive increase in the application of AR in the various fields of neurosurgery. In this study, the authors aim to define the diffusion of these augmented reality systems in recent years. This study describes future trends in augmented reality for neurosurgeons.

Methods: A systematic review of the literature was conducted to identify research published from December 1st, 2011 to November 30th, 2021. Electronic databases (PubMed, PubMed Central, and Scopus) were screened. The methodological quality of studies and extracted data were assessed for "augmented reality" and "neurosurgery". The data analysis focused on the geographical distribution, temporal evolution, and topic of augmented reality in neurosurgery.

Results: A total of 198 studies have been included. The number of augmented reality applications in the neurosurgical field has increased during the last 10 years. The main topics on which it is mostly applied are spine surgery, neuronavigation, and education. The geographical distribution shows extensive use of augmented reality in the USA, Germany, China, and Canada. North America is the continent that uses augmented reality the most in the training and education of medical students, residents, and surgeons, besides giving the greatest research contribution in spine surgery, brain oncology, and surgical planning. AR is also extensively used in Asia for intraoperative navigation. Nevertheless, augmented reality is still far from reaching Africa and other countries with limited facilities, as no publications could be retrieved from our search.

Conclusions: The use of AR is significantly increased in the last 10 years. Nowadays it is mainly used in spine surgery and for neurosurgical education, especially in North America, Europe and China. A continuous growth, also in other aspects of the specialty, is expected in the next future.

Keywords: augmented reality; cranial surgery; education; neurosurgery; spine surgery; training.

Publication types

Systematic Review